What is tsukkomi?
In comedy, it's reacting to a "boke" (the funny part).
It's saying "that's strange, isn't it?"
It's picking up on the mismatch in a situation and turning it into laughter.
But if we look a bit more broadly, I think tsukkomi can be described as follows:
Tsukkomi is a label placed on incongruence.
Normally, something might feel off, but it ends with:
"Something's strange"
"Something's weird"
"Something's off"
"Something's uncomfortable"
"Something's bugging me"
But then, a short phrase is attached.
"Are you the demon king or what?"
"Don't launch meteors near the town"
"Midnight convenience store parking lot bug"
"Convenience store with private rooms"
"Hole-filled wedding venue"
"The problem with the parallel arrangement in Shohei's advertisement"
"The brain's search window"
"Sweet ero"
At the moment these words are attached, the vague sense of incongruence takes shape.
This is tsukkomi, labeling, and also the core of article creation.
Tsukkomi is the Technique to Instantly Share Incongruence
Incongruence is hard to share before it becomes words.
You might think to yourself:
"It feels strange."
But that's not enough to convey it to others.
What is strange?
Where is the mismatch?
Why is it uncomfortable?
What doesn't fit together?
Tsukkomi is about conveying this instantly.
For example, in an RPG, if a hero casts a meteor or an altema-level spell near the town.
Normally, you might think:
"Well, it's just a game."
But if you think more realistically, it's strange.
A meteor is dropped right next to the town.
A wide-area destruction spell is cast.
Lightning and explosions occur.
And yet, the town remains unscathed.
No, you're not the one protecting it—you're the disaster.
At that moment, you say:
"Are you the demon king or what?"
With this one sentence, the sense of incongruence is shared.
The structure "The hero is causing a disaster to the town" is instantly conveyed.
Tsukkomi is Compressed Structural Understanding
The strength of tsukkomi isn't just in the brevity of the words.
A short phrase contains compressed structural understanding.
"Don't launch meteors near the town"
This one sentence contains a lot of meaning.
- Powerful abilities are convenient
- But they can be dangerous in real environments
- They can damage not only enemies but also the surroundings
- Even if the goal is correct, poor implementation can lead to disasters
- First, test in a sandbox
- The same applies to real AI, logical arguments, and long angry texts
All of this structure is compressed into a short tsukkomi.
In other words, good tsukkomi isn't just about the flow.
It's a compressed structural understanding file.
"Tsukkomi" and labels are similar
This also happens when writing an article.
Readers have a sense of discomfort that they haven't yet put into words.
"Being on leave but not being able to take leave"
"Like them but can't get married"
"Too many Daigo advertisements"
"A car alone at a convenience store at night"
"Missing an ex but not sure if I want to get back together"
"Want to use magic"
"Is it weird to cast a big spell near the town in a game?"
Here, we attach labels.
Brain search window
Love success, marriage failure
Problem of Daigo's advertisements side by side
Midnight convenience store parking lot bug
Sweet eroticism
Magic = right to manipulate life
Problem of destroying the residence
With labels, readers can grasp their own sense of discomfort.
"Ah, that's it."
In other words, labeling in articles is quite similar to "tsukkomi" in comedy.
Both are techniques that make a sense of discomfort expressible through short words.
Business improvement is also tsukkomi
Business improvement is also quite similar to tsukkomi.
For example, in the workplace, you might think:
"Why do we always have to go back here?"
"Why is there no defined decision-maker?"
"Why is responsibility given to someone without authority?"
"Why do we only use verbal explanations?"
"Why does the scope of responsibility remain vague?"
This is tsukkomi towards the business process.
However, in business, it is transformed into improvement.
In comedy, it might end with "Why is that?"
In business, it becomes:
"The responsibilities and authorities are mismatched."
"The decision-maker is not defined."
"Pre-check is needed to prevent rework."
"Standardization is needed as it is too dependent on individuals."
"It would be better to document the process instead of using verbal instructions."
This is also labeling.
It's about picking up the sense of discomfort and giving it a name.
Once a name is given, it becomes an improvement target.
UX improvement is also tsukkomi
Improving apps and web services is the same.
Users leave.
They don't proceed to payment.
They don't press the button.
They don't read the explanation.
They get stuck on the input form.
At this point, you think:
"Why do they stop here?"
This is tsukkomi towards UX.
"Isn't this button unclear?"
"Is the explanation too long here?"
"Are there too many options to choose from?"
"Would the user feel uneasy with this order?"
"Is the value not conveyed before payment?"
These are the sense of discomfort we pick up.
And then we label them as:
- Weak flow
- Late value presentation
- Too many options
- Not enough reassurance
- No clear CTA
- High input burden
- Lack of trust elements
This is also tsukkomi in the business context.
The "Tsukkomi" in Comedy and the "Tsukkomi" in Improvement Use the Same OS
Comedy and business improvement are seemingly distant, yet closely related.
Both follow the same process:
Identify the sense of incongruity
Cut out the discrepancy
Express it in words
Share it with others
The difference is in the outcome.
In comedy, it becomes laughter.
In business improvement, it becomes improvement.
In articles, it becomes readers' empathy.
In UX, it becomes usability.
In love, it becomes self-understanding.
In work, it becomes responsibility and operational rules.
But the starting point is the same.
Something feels off.
Whether you can catch this "something feels off" is crucial.
Tsukkomi is Debugging the World
Programs have bugs.
They don't work as intended.
They behave strangely.
They don't produce the expected results.
There are also bugs in daily life.
A car is parked at a convenience store at night, but no one is inside.
A hero who shoots meteors is said to be protecting the town by the roadside.
Every company seems to be trying to differentiate itself by using Shohei Ohtani.
You think you're resting, but your brain is still working.
People debate whether it's love or a romantic feeling for marriage, but they forget to discuss co-management.
These are bugs in daily life.
Tsukkomi is the act of logging these bugs.
"Doesn't this feel wrong?"
"Isn't this specification strange?"
"Is this operation broken?"
"Is this premise flying?"
In other words, tsukkomi is:
Debugging the world
Good Tsukkomi is Observation, Not an Attack
When we think of tsukkomi, it may seem like an attack on someone.
But truly good tsukkomi is not just an attack.
Good tsukkomi is observation.
You observe the situation.
You observe the discrepancy.
You observe the context.
You observe what doesn't fit together.
You put a short word on it.
For example,
"You're the demon king, aren't you?"
This is a strong word, but it's not just an insult.
It points out the contradiction that the hero on the side of protection is using a wide-area destruction spell by the roadside.
In other words, it's not attacking a person's personality, but cutting out a structural discrepancy.
This is important.
It's better to use tsukkomi to make discrepancies visible, not to hastily judge people.
If the punchline is too strong, it becomes a meteor
However, there are dangers in punchlines.
If the punchline is too strong, it becomes a meteor.
It can knock the other person out in one hit.
It can freeze the atmosphere.
It can block the escape route.
It can ruin the relationship.
It can burn with common sense.
This is dangerous.
A punchline is a label, an observation, and a technique for sharing.
But if you use it strongly in human relationships, it can be too sharp for the other person.
Therefore, when using it in real life, you need to adjust the power.
It's okay to write strongly in the article.
It's okay to say strongly in the draft.
It's okay to fire a meteor in AI wall punching.
But when you say it directly to the person, you need to adjust the way you say it.
This is the same as:
Don't fire a meteor on the street
Punchlines also need to be used in the right place.
When you can label something, the world becomes easier to handle
Having a label makes the world easier to handle.
For example,
Having the label "sweet ero" allows you to judge, when you remember an ex-partner, that
"this might not be lingering feelings, but a loss of warmth"
Having the label "holey wedding venue" allows you to see not only the beautiful appearance of marriage, but also the holes in money, family, freedom, and boundaries.
The label "brain's search window" allows you to understand the state of continuing to think even when you're resting.
The label "midnight convenience store parking lot bug" allows you to enjoy the mysterious phenomena of night-time convenience stores as a form of life observation.
Labels are the handles of the world.
With handles, you can hold it.
You can move it.
You can explain it.
You can pass it on to others.
Article titles are punchlines
Good article titles are actually close to punchlines.
"Why can't I rest even though I intended to rest?"
This is a punchline about rest.
"What is needed for marriage: the excitement or love?"
This is a punchline about love discussions.
"The problem of side-by-side big-name ads"
This is a punchline about the advertising industry.
"The hero who fires a meteor on the street, you're the villain, aren't you?"
This is a punchline about RPGs.
Article titles are the first words that express the sense of incongruity in the reader's mind.
Therefore, a good title gets read.
Readers will think:
"That's what I was thinking"
"I understand what that means"
"Oh, that's what it was"
In other words, an article title is a punchline that gets searched for.
The ability to pick up on anomalies is powerful for a lifetime
The ability to pick up on anomalies is something you can use for your whole life.
It can be used in business.
It can be used in comedy.
It can be used in articles.
It can be used in app improvements.
It can be used in self-understanding in love.
It can be used in structuring work.
It can be used in marketing.
It can be used in advertising criticism.
Because there are infinite anomalies in the world.
People's behavior is off.
Systems are off.
Ads are off.
Apps are off.
Workplaces are off.
Love is off.
Marriage is off.
Even rest is off.
People who can notice this have an endless supply of material.
However, picking up everything is tiring.
Therefore,
The ability to pick up
and
the judgment of what not to pick up
are both necessary.
Summary: A "tsukkomi" is labeling an anomaly in a usable way
Tsukkomi is not just the skill of saying something funny.
Tsukkomi is
labeling an anomaly.
Something feels off.
Something is out of place.
Something feels strange.
Something feels uncomfortable.
Putting a short, impactful word on it.
You're the demon king, aren't you?
Don't shoot meteors on the street.
Late-night convenience store parking lot bug.
Holey wedding venue.
The horizontal alignment issue in the Ohtani advertisement.
The brain's search window.
Sweet eroticism.
Then, the anomaly becomes something shareable.
In comedy, it becomes laughter.
In business, it becomes improvement.
In UX, it becomes improved navigation.
In articles, it becomes a title.
In love, it becomes self-understanding.
In work, it becomes responsibility and operational rules.
In other words, tsukkomi is debugging the world.
Finding the discrepancy.
Giving it a name.
Making it something that can be passed on.
This ability is very strong.
However, if tsukkomi is too strong, it becomes a meteor.
Therefore, choose where to aim.
Strongly in articles.
Freely in drafts.
Adjust the firepower when dealing with real people.
Tsukkomi is a label, an observation, and an entry point for improvement.
People who can pick up on anomalies are not just overthinking.
By inserting tsukkomi into the world and giving it a name, they make it a bit easier to handle.
That is a very strong ability.
